Photographic flashgun with divided reflector and flashbulb ejecting means



Nov. 18, 1969 o. E. WOLFF 3,479,497

PHOTOGRAPHIC FLASHGUN WITH DIVIDED REFLECTOR AND FLASHBULB EJECTING MEANS Filed Nov. 30, 1966 imply INVENTOR. om 6'. 71/" W J. Mm

ATTORNEYS United States Patent US. Cl. 2401.3 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A photoflash unit for use with a camera having a separable casing a socket for receiving a photoflash bulb,

a reflector associated with the socket having separate portions which are movable with respect to one another, and a device for simultaneously ejecting a used flashbulb from the socket and for opening the casing of the unit to provide access to the socket so that a fresh flashbulb may be inserted. The reflector portions are movable from a first position in which they cooperate to form a substantially concave reflecting surface to a second position in which the portions are spaced apart from one another to thereby provide increased access to the bulb socket. One of the reflector portions is mounted in the upper half of the casing and is moved to the second position in response to operation of the ejecting device.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In certain picture taking situations it is desirable to take photographs in fairly rapid succession in order to capture a quickly changing scene. If such scenes are photographed indoors with a still camera, it is often necessary to supply illumination in the form of a flashbulb. For taking such flash pictures in rapid succession, several schemes have been devised, one being a multiplesided transparent container having small reflectors built into it which reflect the light of individual flashbulbs which are fired in rapid succession as each side of the container is rotated toward the subject. One drawback to such devices has been their relatively high cost resulting from the fact that the reflectors, as well as the bulbs, are thrown away when the bulbs are spent. Another dis advantage has been the relatively small light output from such assemblies due to size limitations.

Other rapid fire flash devices include magazines to hold a plurality of bulbs which are mechanically fed into position in the reflector as the previously spent bulb is ejected. The disadvantages of these devices include the increased size and weight of the flashguns incorporating such magazines and, of course, the added cost of the feeding mechanism.

The present invention retains the size and weight of the ordinary photographic flashgun with its full size reflector and incorporates a simple yet highly eifective mechanism for simultaneously ejecting a spent bulb while opening a normally closed reflecting chamber so that bulbs may be changed in rapid succession without wasted time or motion. Thus, the disadvantages of the prior devices are overcome with a rapid fire flash device that can 3,479,437 Patented Nov. 18, 1969 deliver full light output in a small package which is, incidentally, inexpensive to manufacture.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION One form of the apparatus which is the subject of the present invention comprises a pyramidal shaped longitudinally split reflector formed of a fixed lower part and a movable upper part pivotally mounted in the flashgun housing. The bulb socket is mounted approximately at the apex of the pyramid and a translucent shield adapted to cover the face of the reflector is permanently attached to the upper portion of the reflector. Upper and lower portions of the reflector are normally biased together such that the reflector and the shield form a reflecting chamber which encloses a photoflash bulb installed in the socket. Actuation of an ejecting mechanism causes the bulb to be discharged from the socket and simultaneously causes the upper portion of the reflector together with the shield to swing away from the lower portion of the reflector to open the reflecting chamber. A fresh bulb may be inserted in the socket while the reflecting chamber is in this open condition.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a photoflash unit for a photographic camera having a reflector longitudinally split into portions which are relatively movable to provide convenient access to the flashbulb socket.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a photoflash unit having novel means for simultaneously opening a closed reflecting chamber and ejecting a spent flashbulb.

Another object is to provide a novel bulb ejecting flashgun which is simple and economical in manufacture.

The invention accordingly comprises the apparatus possessing the construction, combination of elements and arrangement of parts which are exemplified in the following detailed disclosure, and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a photoflash unit constructed according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional View taken along line 2-2 in FIGURE 1; and

FIG. 3 is a sectional view as shown in FIG. 2 but with the photoflash unit in closed position.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The flashgun of the present invention is enclosed in a housing having a pivotable top portion 10 and a fixed bottom portion 12. Mounted in the housing is a split pyramidal shaped reflector consisting of an upper portion 14 which is attached to the top portion 10 of the housing and a stationary portion 16 which remains fixed to the bottom portion 12 of the housing. Other elements mounted in the housing and shown schematically in FIG. 2 are the batteries 17 and 18 supplying power to the flashgun and spring 20 which biases a portion of clamping means 22 for attaching the flashgun to a camera body. Electrical conducting cord 23 provides a means to synchronize the firing of the flashbulb 25 with the shutter mechanism of the camera.

The socket for receiving the base 24 of the flashbulb 25 comprises a pair of metal contact members 27 and 28 for conducting electricity from batteries 17 and 18 to the flashbulb and which engage the base of flashbulb and grip it to hold the bulb in proper position with respect to the reflector surfaces for illumination of an object to be photographed. When the bulb is properly seated in the metal contact members, the contacts 32 and 33 on the bulb are received in recessed portions 35 and 36 in the metal members. The top portion of the housing is pivotally mounted on an axis passing through the center of pin 37 as shown in FIG. '2. Attached to the pivotable top portion of said housing is a plastic transparent shield 38 that extends around the top and sides of the housing and which serves to protect against the possibility of an exploding flashbulb. The shield 38 may also serve as a blue filter for taking color pictures indoors with clear flashbulbs on film balanced for daylight illumination. When the top portion of the housing is pivoted upward about pin 37, the shield 38 is carried with it and as shown in FIG. 2 no longer blocks the access to the flashbul-b receiving socket so that the ejected bulb is easily expelled and the new bulb may be replaced without interference. One should note, with reference to FIGURES 1 and 2 the extremely wide open position of the flash chamber wherein all parts of the reflector portion 14 are spaced from all parts of the reflector portion 16 a greater distance than in the closed position of FIGURE 3 providing convenient access to the flashbulb socket. This results from the unique concept of splitting the reflector and mounting the upper portion in the pivotable top portion of the housing.

The novel means for simultaneously opening the closed reflecting chamber and ejecting a spent flashbulb as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 is simple yet highly effective in operation. The movable cam means 40 has a flashbulb contacting portion 41 against which the rear of the bulb rests in firing position. When the manually engageable portion 42 is depressed, the cam means 40 pivots about an axis passing through the center of pin 44 and the bulb is forcibly urged from its socket and is ejected. As shown in FIG. 2, the manually engageable portion 42 extends through an opening in the rear of the housing and is easily engageable by the thumb of the user. To provide for pivoting the top portion of the housing about pin 37, two fingers or appendages 46 and 47 are formed integrally with said top housing portion, as shown in FIG. 2. The first finger 47 is simple in shape and rests against a mating shoulder portion 48 of the cam means 40. As the cam means 40 is forcibly pivoted about pin 44, the resultant moment of force acting on finger 47 will cause the top portion of the housing along with reflector portion 14 and shield 38 to pivot about pin 37 and flip to its open position. To maintain the top portion of the housing in its open position, a leaf spring is provided having a leg 50 attached to the fixed lower housing portion 12 and a portion 51 which cooperates with the second finger 46. The second finger is shaped in the form of an over center cam. That is to say that in the closed position, the spring biases the top housing portion in a first or counterclockwise direction as shown in FIG. 2, but as pressure on the first finger portion pivots the finger around pin 37, the cam surface on said finger is said to pass over center so that in the open position the spring portion 51 then biases said finger 46 in a second or clockwise direction. Thus, thetop housing portion will remain open until closed manually. As the top housing portion is manually closed, the finger 47 engages the cam means 40 and causes it to pivot about pin 44 and return to a position where portion 42 again protrudes further through the opening in the housing.

Since certain changes may be made in the above device without departing from the scope of the invention herein involved, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What is claimed is:

1. A photoflash unit for a photographic camera comprising:

a socket for receiving a photoflash bulb and properly positioning said bulb for illumination of an object to be photographed; and

a reflector mounted in relation to said socket for directing the light emitted by a bulb mounted in said socket toward the object to be photographed, said reflector including two portions mounted for movement relative to one another between a first position wherein said portions cooperate to provide a substantially continuous concave reflecting surface for reflecting light from a bulb mounted in said socket toward a subject to be photographed and a second position wherein all parts of said portions are spaced a greater distance apart from one another than in said first position providing increased access to said socket for replacing a spent bulb with a fresh one.

2. The invention according to claim 1 including means for simultaneously ejecting a spent bulb and for moving said portion of said reflector between said first and second positions.

3. .The invention according to claim 1 wherein said reflector is pyramidal in shape and the photoflash bulb socket is positioned at approximately the apex of the pyramid.

4. The invention according to claim 3 wherein one of the two portions of the reflector is fixed and another of said portions is movable, said movable portion being pivotally mounted in the vicinity of the apex of the pyramidal shaped reflector.

5. A photoflash unit for a photographic camera coma prising:

a socket for receiving a photoflash bulb and properly positioning said bulb for illumination of an object to be photographed;

movable means for ejecting a spent bulb to allow a new bulb to be inserted in said "base;

a first reflecting means fixedly mounted in relation to said bulb for directing a portion of the illumination emitted by said bulb toward the object to be photographed;

a second reflecting means pivotally mounted in said photoflash unit for directing in its closed position a remaining portion of the illumination emitted from said bulb toward the object to be photographed;

a finger fixedly connected to said second reflecting means and extending into the path of movement of said ejecting means so that movement of said ejecting means causes said second reflecting means to pivot relative to said first reflecting means to an open position to provide convenient access to said socket for removing a spent flashbulb and replacing it with a fresh one.

6. The invention according to claim 5 wherein the movable means for ejecting a spent bulb comprise:

an elongated cam pivoted at one end and having a flashbulb contacting portion and a manually engageable portion whereby pressure on said manually engageable portion causes said cam to pivot and forcibly urge said flashbulb from its socket.

7. The invention according to claim 5 wherein further means are provided for maintaining said second reflecting means in either its open or closed position, said means comprising:

an over center cam fixedly connected to said second reflecting means; and

a leaf spring mounted in said photoflash unit and positioned relative to said over center cam such that in the open position said spring biases said cam in one direction, maintaining said second reflecting means in said open position, and in the closed position in another direction, maintaining said second reflecting means in said closed position.

8. The invention according to claim 5 wherein a flash shield is connected to said second reflecting means and is movable with said second reflecting means so that in the open position it is moved from its shielding position to a position providing convenient access to said socket.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,863,988 12/1958 Schwartz et a1. 240-1.3

3,079,490 2/1963 Barbieri 2401.3 3,184,584 5/1965 Bundschuh 2401.3 3,204,542 9/1965 Strasser et a1. '2401.3 XR

NORTON ANSHER, Primary Examiner F. L. BRAUN, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

